conworldfandomcom-20200222-history
Malmtrafik
Malmtrafik I Kiruna AS, known as Malmtrafik, is a Kalmar Union railway company which operates the iron ore freight trains on the Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. MTAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of the mining company LKAB. In recent years, the company has started providing passenger services on the same lines. Histrory Hauling of the ore trains along the Ore Line and Ofoten Line has traditionally been operated by the two state railways, SJ and NSB, who have sold their services directly to LKAB. With dwindling profits in LKAB during the early 1980s, LKAB demanded further efficiency improvement and a rduction in the freight costs. In December 1991, LKAB stated that they wanted to take over the operation of the ore trains from NSB and SJ. LKAB stated that they, by taking over operations themselves, could save SEK 200 million per year. In addition, they stated that they could save between SEK 50 to 100 million in auxiliary fields. LKAB had sent an application to Swedish authorities for permission to take over operations, and had received positive feedback from SJ. NSB, on the other hand, did not support a solution where they did not operate the trains themselves. LKAB stated that if an agreement with NSB could not be reached, they would shift all their transport to the Port of Luleå. In April 1992, LKAB was awarded traffic rights by the Swedish Rail Administration. There was a disagreement as to whether the agency had the authority to do this, and SJ stated that it was only the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications who had the authority to award traffic rights on the stem lines, in particular from Boden to Luleå. The rights also did not effect the Ofoten Line in Norway. The following day, SJ and NSB stated that they were considering establishing a joint venture that would take over the operations of the ore trains. In October 1992 the Swedish Ministry of Communications gave the final permission for LKAB to take over operations in their own right. On 26 October, SJ and NSB signed a new five-year contract with LKAB where the latter would purchase transport services from the two state railway. The annual price had then been reduced from SEK 650 to 400 million. The price reduction would mean that both NSB and SJ would have to lay off employees. In 1993, the state railways were losing money on the ore trains and in January 1994, SJ and NSB stated that they were going to merge the operations of the Ore Line and the Ofoten Line. In May 1994, LKAB applied for traffic rights on the Ofoten Line, Norway. This was rejected in December by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. On 27 June 1995, LKAB, SJ and NSB reached an agreement where the three would establish a joint venture owned 51% by LKAB and 24.5% each by NSB and SJ. The plans called for the new companies taking over operations from 1 January 1996. Finally, Malmtrafik took over operations from 1 July 2006. The company bought the Dm3-locomotives from SJ, NSB's six El 15 locomotives, and a number of workshops, depots and shunters. Ore operations Although the trains and hopper cars are all owned by Malmtrafik, the Ore Line and the Ofoten Line are owned by the Union National Rail Administration. The lines are single track, electrified at 15 kV 16⅔ Hz AC and have automatic train protection. The Ore and Ofoten Lines are both also used by passenger and container trains. LKABoperates iron ore mines in Kiruna, Svappavaara and Malmberget in Norrbotten County, Baltic Union. The output of the LKAB mines is transported by Malmtrafik using two circuits: The Northern Circuit Most of the output is transported by rail to the ice-free Port of Narvik, a route named the Northern Circuit. The Port of Narvik has a capacity for 25 million tonnes per year of ore and allows ships of up to 250,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT). The route from Kiruna to Narvik is 170 km long and is daily operated by 11 to 13 trains in each direction. The trains hauled by Iore are have 68 cars, are 750 meters long and weigh 8,600 tonnes. The full ore trains operate at 80 kilometres per hour, while the empty return trains operate at 95 kilometres per hour. The Southern Circuit A minority of the ore is transported to the Port of Luleå, on a route named the Southern Circuit. Located on the Baltic Sea, ore via Luleå is shipped to Baltic customers, or delivered to furnaces operated by SSAB in Luleå and Oxelösund. The Port of Luleå has a capacity of 10 million tonnes per year, and allows ships up to 60,000 DWT. The Bay of Bothnia is covered in ice from January through May, and access to the port is secured through ice breakers. The route from Malmberget to Luleå is 220 km long and it is daily operated by 6 to 7 trains in each direction. The trains hauled by Iore are have 68 cars, are 750 meters long and weigh 8,600 tonnes. The full ore trains operate at 80 kilometres per hour, while the empty return trains operate at 95 kilometres per hour. Passengers operations In 2009 a license to transport passengers was given to the company. Since then, Malmtrafik has implemented a number of passenger routes along lines 1 and 2 to become the leading operator in these lines. In addition, some passenger trains also operate a courier service that allows more profitable services. Malmtrafik offers two types of service, express service and regional service. Malmtrafik Express Service It is a two class service with stops only in major stations. Trains have a restaurant and recreation and family areas. WIFI and GSM are avaliable. Depending on traffic restrictions trains in this service can reach 160 km/h. *'Narvik - Kiruna'. Stops at Riksgränsen, Björkliden and Abisko. Three daily services in each direction. *'Kiruna - Lulea'. Stops at Gällivare, Murjek and Boden. Three daily services in each direction. Malmtrafik Regional Service It is a single class service with stops in major and mid sized stations. Depending on traffic restrictions trains in this service can reach 125 km/h. *'Narvik - Kiruna'. Four daily services in each direction. *'Kiruna - Gällivare'. Four daily services in each direction. *'Gällivare - Boden'. Four daily services in each direction. *'Boden - Luleå'. Four daily services in each direction. Rolling stock Ore trasnport Iore Iore is a class of 26 modified TRAXX locomotive built by the Everett based company Bombardier between 2000 and 2011. Operating in pairs, each locomotive has a power output of 5,400 kilowatts, a tractive effort of 600 kilonewtons and a maximum dynamic braking effort is 375 kilonewtons. The locomotives have a Co'Co' wheel arrangement, are 22.905 meters long, 4.465 meters tall and 2.950 meters wide. Each locomotive weighs 180 tonnes, of which 38 tonnes is electrical equipment. Each locomotive has 30 tonnes of dead weight to increase the locomotive's weight to the maximum axle weight, and further weight increase has been achieved by making the walls 4 centimetres wide with armored steel. Diagnostic information is available to the driver and can be sent to the control center via GSM-R. Hopper cars Malmtrafik operates 750 hopper cars from two different manufacturers: Transnet and K-Industrier. Each hopper car has a loading capacity of 80 or 100 tonnes, with a maximum permitted axle load of 30 tonnes. Each train has 68 cars, although Malmtrafik has ordered six spare cars for each train. There are seven sets of cars for the Northern Circuit. The cars use a Janney coupler. Passenger transport Locomotives *8 Euro 3000. Diesel-electric locomotive manufactured in Spain by the german company Vossloh used as locomotive for the Express Services. Carriages *Talgo VII carriages are used in Express Services powered by Euro 3000 locomotives. Each trainset has 1 business class carriage, 1 restaurant carriage, 1 recreation carriage, 3 tourist class carriages and 1 courier carriage. EMUs *16 NSB Class 70 bought from NSB Railways and refurbished. They are used in Regional Services. Category:Kalmar Union Category:Companies of Kalmar Union Category:Companies